Goodwin College hosts its first Humanities Festival

An ensemble of students and teachers recites Langston Hughes' ‘Freedom's Plow’ at the Goodwin College Humanities Festival. Photo by Diane Church.

Jamie Mattos enrolled at Goodwin College to get a nursing degree, but along the way, she discovered a talent for writing poetry.

"I always loved art and poetry, but I didn't know I could write poems until I tried," said Mattos, whose work has appeared in the school's creative writing collection, "The Beacon," and in a small booklet of poetry she wrote. "It helps me reduce stress and keeps me balanced," she said.

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But Mattos would not have known it if she had not taken a poetry class. Poetry is one of the humanities courses that Goodwin College has added to its curriculum in recent years. The school, known for its technical and nursing classes, now offers bachelor's degrees in several subjects.

Dr. Allan Ballinger, curriculum director of humanities, wants to bring awareness to the public about Goodwin College's humanities classes, so he put together the school's first Humanities Festival on Sept. 24 through 26. It included poetry readings and musical performances of pieces from the period between World War I and World War II, with a focus on women, who gained the right to vote in 1920, and racism, which was still a major problem, especially in the south. Art from the period was also displayed.

"Our focus is still on career development, but we want to make people aware that Goodwin College is not just a technical and data institute," Ballinger said. "It is a four-year institution."

At the concert on Sept. 26, teachers and students, including Mattos, took turns reciting parts of Langston Hughes' poem, "Freedom's Plow." Alan Kramer, dean of the college's magnet schools, wrote some original poetry and music that was used during the event. Ballinger played the cello in Sir Edward Elgar's "Cello Concerto in E Minor" and one of Kramer's musical pieces. On Sept. 24, students and teachers recited their own poems and played music.

Although schools have focused on recent years on STEM subjects (science, technology, engineering and math), the humanities are being rediscovered. Art, in particular, is being recognized and the acronym STEM has become STEAM.

Dr. Brian Dixon and Cynthia McHale-Hendricks, who teach English, also took part in the recitation of "Freedom's Plow." They also help coordinate the Poetry Club and the college's National Day of Writing.

"We're moving toward a more collegiate culture," Dixon said. "There is a crossover between writing and other subjects."

"Nursing is our largest program," said McHale-Hendricks. "It includes a lot of biology, chemistry and anatomy and physiology. For those students, taking a literature or poetry class adds something. That's the beauty of humanities."

The concert also featured the premiere of Kramer's music for Arthur O'Shaughnessy's "The Music Makers" and a setting for Langston Hughes' poem "Hold Fast to Dreams," an original composition for voices and chamber ensemble by Alan Kramer.